Apparatus for fluid control



Sept. 5, 1939. T. A. LARRY ET A1.

APPARATUS FOR FLUID CONTROL Original Filed Sept. 14, 1936 2 Sheets--Sheml l Illini@ |||l|. ./ll. IIIIII .zi/II y IIIIIII :inventors M Z fg@ w.

Sept. 5, 1939. T. A, LARRY ET AL AIPARATUS FOR FLUID CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept, 14, 1936 Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEl APPARATUS FOR FLUID CONTROL Original application September 14, 1936, Serial No. 100,780. Divided and this application Feb ruary 27, 1937, Serial No. 128,284

1 Claim.

This invention relates to apparatus whereby fluid, under-pressure, may be temporarily bypassed or diverted around a section of a. iluid conduit, which is to be repaired, replaced, or otherwise operated upon, without substantial loss of fluid or fluid pressure and without interrupting the ilow of fluid in the remainder of the conduit.

`In the maintenance or extension of public service mains and branch or service pipes, such as are used to conduct gas, oil, water or other fluids, it is frequently necessary to repair, replace, or perform other operations on a section of the conduit, without interrupting service to consumers whose service pipes communicate with the conduit at points above and below the section. This necessitates the provision of a by-pass line connected to the conduit at points on either side of the section to be operated on, whereby the fluid may flow around'the section, and the insertion of valve members for shutting Off the ilow of fluid into the section. The circuit throughthe by-pass line must be completed before, or simultaneously with, the4 shutting 01T of said section in order that there will be no interruption in the flow of fluid. Furthermore, the by-pass line must be connected to the conduit, the valve members inserted in the conduit and other operations performed, without permitting any appreciable escape of fluid or fluid pressure.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for connecting a by-pass line and shutting oli a section of a conduit, as described in our copending application Serial No. 100,780, led September 14, 1936, of which this application is a division with a minimum of labor and expense.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus whereby the flow of fluid may be diverted from a pipe line at any desired point and, of course, this apparatus may or may not be used with other apparatus for reintroducing the uid into the pipe line at another point.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying description and drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in section, of the apparatus applied to a pipe line.

Figure 2 is a transverse View, partly in section, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2."

Figure 4 is a detail sectional'view of part of the apparatus shown in Figure l, illustrating the relative positions generally assumed by the parts when the valve member is longitudinally compressed and distorted.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Figure 1 shows the flow-diverting apparatus of this invention applied to a pipe line, designated by the numeral I, it being assumed that the pipe line is intended to convey fluid in the direction shown by the arrow. IIhe apparatus includes a fitting I0 which is preferably constructed and secured to the pipe line in the manner described in the copending application Serial No. 100,780 referred to above.

The fitting consists of a substantially cylindrical portion II having an opening I2 at its upper end and closed at its lower end I3. The upper end is preferably threaded exteriorly and interiorly for the attachment of other apparatus.

The tting is provided with aligned lateral openings, which are bounded by the laterally extending hubs I4 and I5 and which are adapted to receive the pipe I. The lower cylindrical portion of the fitting is provided interiorly with a circumferential projection or abutment I6 which is adapted to limit the inward or downward movement of the valve member which, as will be described, is inserted through the open end of the fitting.

After the fittings have been welded to the pipe at the point from .which it is desired to divert the ilow of the fluid, a valve body 3l having a tapered valve seat 32 and provided with a valve, preferably a gate valve 33, operable by handle 34, is threaded on the upper end of the fitting.

An enclosed drilling apparatus is then secured to the upper end of the valve body and, after the gate valve 33 has been withdrawn, the portion of the top and bottom wall of the pipe which is within the fitting I0 may be cut away without loss of fluid or fluid pressure. This drilling operation is more fully described in the copending application Serial No.^100,780'referred to above.

When the drilling is completed, the gate valve 33 is closed and the drilling apparatus removed after which the flow-diverting apparatus maybe secured to the upper end of the valve body 3i.

This 'apparatus includes an adapter 5I, externally screw threaded at its lower end for attachment to the upper end of the valve body 3I and it is preferably provided at its upper end with internal screw threads for the attachment of the flow-diverting chamber 52.

The flow-diverting chamber 52 is preferably substantially cylindrical and its lower end, which is open, is externally screw threaded for engagement with the internal screw threads at the upper end of the adapter 5|. An annular gasket 5I is inserted between the by-passing chamber and the adapter to provide a fluid tight joint. The chamber 52 comprises the substantially cylindrical side wall 53 and a centrally apertured top wall 54. The side wall 53 is provided with an internally threaded opening 55 to which a pipe may be connected if it is desired to continue the conduit formed by the valve body 3|, adapter 5| and chamber 52, leading from the upper end of the iltting. The side wall of the chamber 52 extends above the top wall 54 and the extension 56 is provided with internal threads for the attachment of a feed sleeve 51.

A bar 58 is slidably and rotatably mounted within the feed sleeve 51 and within the centrally apertured top wall 54 of the how-diverting chamber, a tight joint being maintained around the lower end of the feed sleeve, by means of a conventional packing 59 located between the feed sleeve 51 and the upper wall 54 of the chamber 52.

The bar 58 is provided at its upper end with an operating handle 60. Spa'ced collars 6| and 62 are fixed on the upper portion of the bar 58 and in order that the bar 58 may be forced upwardly or downwardly, a feed screw 63 is threaded on the feed sleeve 51 and may be connected with the bar 58 by means of a yoke 64 pivoted upon the feed screw 63 and having its head portion slotted as at 65 so that it may be swung into engagement with the bar 58 between the collars 6I and 62, as shown in Figure 1.

The lower end of the bar 58 is provided with a socket 66 provided with left-handed internalA threads, and a lower counter-bored socket 61 internally threaded with right-handed threads. The lower end of the bar 58 is slightly enlarged to provide a shoulder 68 for the retention of a sleeve 89, the upper end of which is internally flanged at 10. 'I'he sleeve 69, which is adapted to be slipped on over the top of the bar 58, during the assembly thereof and before the handle 60 and collars 6| and 62 are attached, extends below the lower extremity of the bar 58 and is provided at its lower end with internal screw threads for the attachment of the flow-diverting valve 1I.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the flow-diverting valve generally designated at 1I, includes a substantially cylindrical member 12, made of some resilient material such as rubber. 'I'he member 12 is partially cut away at one side as is shown at 13 and the cut-away portion preferably extends irom a point approximately half way down its side upwardly and inwardly to the top of the member. Disk-like caps 14 and 15, which are preferably inwardly flanged as shown at 16 and 11, are positioned above and below the member 12. The caps 14 and 15 and the member 12 are centrally apertured for the reception of a rod 18 on which they are slidably mounted. The rod 18 is provided at its upper end with a slightly enlarged head 19 and its lower end is threaded for the reception of a nut whereby the member 12 may be clamped between the upper and lower caps 14 and 15 when the nut 80 is tightened. The n-ut 80 is preferably provided with slots on its under surface and the rod 18 is apertured at its lower end for the reception of the usual locking pin 8|.

'I'he upper cap 14 is cut away at one side as at 82 to conform with the cut-away portion 13 of the member 12, and the flange 16 follows the contour of the cut-away portion, in order to prevent rotation of the member 12 with respect to the cap 14 after the parts are assembled. The

cap 14 is provided with a central and upwardly 5 extending cylindrical portion 83 which is externally threaded for attachment to the internally threaded sleeve 69.

When the cylindrical portion 83 of the cap 14 isthreaded into the sleeve 69 it will abut the' 1 lower end of the bar 58 and it will therefore be apparent that downward pressure on the bar 58 will be directly transmitted to the cap 14. It will also be apparent that upward movement of the bar 58 will raise the cap 14 by reason of the 1 fact that the internally flanged sleeve 69 engages the lower enlarged end of the bar 58 and also engages the upwardly extending central portion 83 of the cap 14.

The lower extremity of the bar 58, which forms 2 the socket 68, is provided with slots 84, 84, adapted to receive lugs 85, 85, positioned on the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 83, as shown in Figure 3, whereby relative rotation of the cap 14, and consequently the member 12, with re 2 spect to the bar 58, will be prevented.

The object of the procedure now to be described is to prevent the flow of fluid into the section of the pipe I shown on the left hand side of the flow-diverting member 1I (Figure 1) while caus- 3 ing the fluid to flow out of the pipe I through the open end of the tting and through the conduit formed by the valve body 3|, the adapter 5|, the chamber 52 and its outlet 55.

By turning the handle 60, the member 12 is ro- 3 tated until its cut away portion 13 is aligned with the axis of the pipe I and faces upstream. The bar 58 is then moved downwardly, by pushing down'on the handle 60, yuntil the member 12 is in the position shown in Figure 1, the downward 4 movement being arrested when the lower cap 15 of the member 12 contacts the inwardly projecting abutment I6 of the fitting I0.

It will be understood that suitable symbols may be placed on the handle 60 to indicate the direction in which the cut away portion faces.

'I'he yoke 64 is now swung to upright position engaging the bar 58 between the collars 6I and 62, as shown in Figure l, and the feed screw 63 is turned to the right to apply downward pres- 5 sure, through the collar 62 and bars 58, to the cap 14.

'I'he cap 15 at the lower' end of the member 12 is held against downward movement by the abutment I6 of the fitting Ill, and since the member 12 is made of resilient material, the downward pressure on the cap 14 will cause the member 12 to expand laterally as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The caps 14 and 15 and the member 12 are 6 slidable on the rod 18 and therefore the position which the rod will assume, after compression of the member 12, will not always be the same as it will depend, to some extent, upon the frictional quality of the resilient material of which 6 the member 12 is made. Figures. '4 and 5 illustrate one position which the rod 18 may assume and it will be noted that the cap 14 has moved downwardly a considerable distance from the head 19 of the rod 18, with the result that the 7 head 19 is positioned within the socket 66. In View of this possible range of movement, the apparatus is preferably so designed that the diameter of the head 19 will be smaller than the internal diameter of the socket 66. It will also 7 be noted that the fitting Il should be of suilicient depth to allow for a considerable downward movement oi the rod 1l.

Upon expansion of the member 12, it will be forced into contact with the adjacent walls of the pipe I, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and act as a valve to close oi. at its upper end, the section of the pipe which is below or downstream with respect to the member 12. Fluid may continue to flow from the portion of the pipe I above the fitting, by reason of the provision of the out away portion 13 in the member 12 which permits ow of fluid from the pipe I upwardly through the opening I2.

When it is desired to restore flow through the section and to remove the dow-diverting apparatus, this may be accomplished expeditiously and Without loss of fluid pressure by the use of the apparatus and method to be hereinafter described.

Theiirst step in the method of removing the flow-diverting apparatus consists in turning the feed screw 63 to the left to relieve the downward pressure on the how-diverting member 12. This will result in a lateral contraction of the flow-diverting member, owing to the resiliency of the material of which it is made, and, the uid will flow through the spaces thus created between the now-diverting member and the adjacent walls of the pipe, and into the section of the pipe I which is downstream from the apparatus.

The yoke 64 may then be disengaged from the bar 58, and the member 12 is drawn up into the chamber 52 by pulling up on the handle 6I. Although this procedure may be carried out without diilculty in most instances, because of the tendency of the member 12 to assume its normal cylindrical shape and thus equalize the pressure in the portions of the pipe on either side of the member, it has been found that, in some cases, where the pressure is exceedingly high, the member 12 may be forced into such tight engagement with a portion of the pipe that the resiliency of the now-diverting member will not be suilicient to bring about the above mentioned contraction. In such cases, equalization of pressure is preferably eifected by rotating the handle 60 of the bar 5I through an angle of approximately with the result that the cut away portion 13 of the member 12 will face in a direction at right angles to the axis of the pipe I. A passageway for the iluid will thus be created between the sections of the pipe on either side of the member 12, through the cut away portion 13, and pressure having thus been equalized, the member 12 may be removed without difficulty by disensasing the yoke M andv pulling up on the handle il.

After the member 12 has been withdrawn into he chamber 52. the gate valve 33 may be operated to closed position and the now-diverting apparatus removed without substantial loss of fluid.

If the valve body 3l is to be removed, a closure plug may be threaded into the upper end of the tting I0 in the manner described in the copending application Serial No. 100,780 referred to above, and the flowdiverting apparatus including the valve body 3l may thus be removed without substantial loss of iluid.

It will be apparent that the above described apparatus and procedure may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention and it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings be regarded as merely illustrative. v

The fitting which is shown herein and the method of attaching the same to a pipe, form the subject matter of copending applications of 'Iimothy Allan Larry and Earl E. Cline, Serial No. 100,782, filed September 14, 1936, Serial No. 122,248, filed January 25, 1937, and Serial No. 122,249, filed January 25, 1937.

We claim:

In an apparatus adapted to be attached to a pipe for temporarily diverting the iiow of iiuld therefrom, a fitting having a substantially cylindrical portion open at its upper end and closed at its lower end, the cylindrical portio'n having aligned lateral openings therein, through which the pipe extends, a resilient and substantially cylindrical valve member adapted to be inserted within the fitting, a portion of at least the top and bottom wall of the pipe within the cylindrical member being cut away so that the valve member may be inserted within the pipe,

an abutment in the fitting adapted to limit the downward movement of the valve member, said valve member being cut away at one side, the cut away portion extending from a point on its side, between its ends, upwardly and inwardly to the upper end so as to provide a passageway for fluid, a conduit secured to the upper end of said fitting adapted to conduct fluid therefrom, and means secured to the upper end of said valve member, said means being rotatable so that the valve member may be turned to a position in which its cut away portion faces upstream, said means also being movable axially so that said valve member may be axially compressed and laterally expanded into sealing engagement with the walls of the pipe, when urged against said abutment, to prevent flow of iluid from the up'- stream side of the iitting to that portion of the pipe which Is connected to the other side of the ntting and to permit flow of fluid through the cut away portion of the valve member into the conduit secured to the upper end or the fitting, when the valve member is positioned with its cut away portion facing upstream.

TIMOTHY ALLAN LARRY.

EARL E. CLINE.

ORVILLI J. HA 

